Helpless
by TheNextTitan
Summary: Calleigh is kidnapped. Horatio races to find her, only to discover she wasn't telling him something he should have known. Please R&R, no flames. CH10 UP!
1. Acting Strange

Chapter 1: Acting Strange

06:28am

Calleigh Duquesne's House

Calleigh awoke to the sound of her alarm, drilling into her fitful sleep. She jerked into daylight, her eyes fluttering open and remaining wide. She sat straight up, staring frantically around her. There were her clothes she wore yesterday and her belt lying on her chair, fully equipped with badge and gun. She sighed and put her head in her hands. Suddenly she recoiled, a sharp pain bursting angrily in her hand. She gasped as she look upon a deep wound, about a ½ inch in and the skin around it blue and purple. Then it all came back to her, it a series of flashbacks that made her heart race.

_She had been walking toward her house from the car when she remembered that she had it unlocked. With a sigh she turned round and was suddenly confronted by a tall man, dressed in black and wearing a balaclava over what seemed to be a blunt face. In his hand he had a small knife which was raised over his head and he was yelling. Calleigh fell back trying to scream but was over taken by shock. He grabbed her arm and tried to drive the knife into his heart, but she had raised her hand up. The knife penetrated her skin and blood began to flow down her arm. She finally managed to scream. The man immediately got off her and ran flat out down the street. Calleigh was too, running, into her house, fumbling with the keys as blood began to drip down onto the ground. The door opened and Calleigh rushed inside, straight to the bathroom where she instantly put her hand under water. Tears were already sweeping down her face and blood was steadily slipping down the drain._

Calleigh let out a small sob and she sat in her bed, scared to do anything, even leave the bed. But she had to be at work in under an hour. She toyed with ringing in and saying that she was sick, but she knew instantly that they would get suspicious. Hell, they were the CSI team, they would probably figure out something. Then Calleigh thought of ringing Horatio. But for her, that would make matters even more worse. Calleigh made her mind up. She'd have to go to work, be careful with her hand, make sure no one saw it and then come back home… And wait. Calleigh got out bed steadily, for her legs were shaking badly and walked over to the bathroom, where she saw the blood still there on the sink. But she held back her tears, grabbed some make up wipes and cleaned it away.

07:11

Calleigh grabbed her keys for the car off the side and took a deep breath in. He wounded hand had a single plaster over it, but she knew that she'd have to see a doctor at some point to get it sorted out. She looked at the back of the hand and saw that the cream she had used was working well to cover up the purple bruise that was there. Keeping last night's incident at the back of her mind, she briskly walked outside, locked her front door and walked toward her car. She silently thanked the rain last night, for it had washed away the blood from the ground. She looked around and saw her neighbour coming towards her. She put on her sunglasses and a fake smile.

"Morning, Mrs. Gelding." She said brightly.

"Morning dear. I say, did you hear all of that screaming and yelling last night?" The old lady asked, having to look slightly upward at Calleigh because she was much shorter than her.

"No, I didn't." Calleigh lied, quickly slipping her hand behind her back.

"Well, you were better off without it. Kept me up all night." Mrs. Gelding said, in a hushed voice.

"Oh, poor you." Calleigh rushed, feeling tears scratching at the back of her eyes. "I must be going Mrs. Gelding. I hope you have a better night tonight."

"Have a good day, dear." Mrs. Gelding replied and she shuffled away. Calleigh swept into the parked Hummer. Gripping the wheel tightly with her right hand, she carefully moving the left wounded hand to turn the key. The engine burst into life and Calleigh drove it out of the drive.

07:45

Miami CSI Building

Horatio looked over the current case files, a slight frown on his face. There was a knock at the door and he looked up over the folder.

"Come in." He said, returning to the file as Delko came in, carrying a small envelope.

"Here are the bullets from the crime scene, H." He said, holding up the envelope. Horatio lowered the file.

"Have you done any blood comparisons on them?" He asked.

"Yeah, they all have the same 3 bloods on them, 1 of which is the vic's blood. The other two still haven't been matched, but DNA is on it." Delko replied.

"Ok, I'll take them down to Calleigh. Thanks Eric." Horatio said, standing up and taking the envelope off Delko. Eric went off to DNA, while Horatio went down to Ballistics.

07:54

Calleigh was glaring at the plaster on her hand, thinking of really telling Horatio. But, she didn't want the fuss, the instant investigation she knew that would come straight after she told him. She sighed and put on her white coat and gloves. She heard the door open and jumped slightly. She looked over and saw Horatio come in, carrying the envelope of bullets. She saw him frown instantly at her strange behaviour and smiled quickly.

"Hey, handsome, what have you got for me?" She said, putting on a confident voice. Horatio now had his hands on his hips, staring right at Calleigh.

"Calleigh, why did you just jump like that?" He asked, his eyes boring into Calleigh.

"I don't usually get people down here this early, that's all." She lied, staring right back at him.

"Calleigh, you know you can tell me when there is something wrong. You've always known that." He said in a low voice. At that moment, Calleigh's mind tore in two. One half was screaming at her to tell him, while the other was scared of what might happen if she did. She hated lying to Horatio or to anyone she knew, but this was a lie that might be keeping him safe.

"Horatio, it's nothing. Really, I'm fine. I…I just didn't get enough sleep last night." She said, her eyes not daring to rip themselves away from Horatio's. He still looked persistent, still searching for some sort of answer. Calleigh's hand was tucked behind the desk. She knew that somehow he would find out, but not now, not here. Horatio looked concerned but yet he stopped asking questions and handed Calleigh the envelope, which she took from her free hand.

"These bullets from the scene?" Calleigh asked, daring to change the subject.

"The only three that we could receive." Horatio replied, playing along with Calleigh's lie. With that he turned and walked away, feeling Calleigh's eyes watching him every step of the way.

* * *

Yay! New story. Sorry, I had to delete my sequel to Broken, seeing as it went wrong at the beginning, so I am working on it. I'd just like to wish everyone reading this to have a Happy New Year and best wishes for the new year as well. Ok, well, I have got the 2nd chapter written, so I'll put that up soon. Thanks for reading and please review, becuase it does give me a lot of confidence in writing the story. 

2006-Happy New Year -2006

From TheNextTitan


	2. Alexx's Findings

Chapter 2: Alexx's Findings

17:36pm

Miami CSI Building, Autopsy

Alexx stared down at the victim of the latest case with heavy eyes. Young woman aged 27, out partying and gets shot twice in the chest and once in the head.

"Choked on you own blood didn't you honey." She muttered to the somewhat peaceful corpse in front of her. "Never had the chance to live with the bullet in the head." The door to the cold room opened and Calleigh walked in, fighting the urge to scream with the pain in her hand. However, she put on a brave face.

"Hey, Alexx, have you got those bullet fragments for me?" She asked sweetly. Alexx grinned and passed her the small glass pot. Calleigh reached out for them, not thinking, with her left hand.

"Oh my god, Calleigh, what did you do with you hand, honey?" Alexx gasped, placing the pot on the table and holding Calleigh's hand very gently. Calleigh instantly came up with a story.

"Oh, I was emptying the dishwasher and caught myself on a knife. It's not that bad." Calleigh lied quickly.

"Honey, you have to be more careful. Here, why don't you take the last 2 hours off and go and get it checked?" Alexx said, examining the plaster, which covered the real wound.

"Nah Alexx, it's nothing." Calleigh said in a slightly choked voice, trying her best not to wince as Alexx slowly turned her hand.

"If you're sure, Calleigh. I will tell Horatio where you are." Alexx offered. Calleigh shook her head and slowly withdrew her hand.

"Really Alexx, I am fine." Calleigh assured her, though her own heart was racked with guilt.

"Ok then, but you should tell Horatio that you're not up to best performance." Alexx sighed, passing Calleigh the bullet fragments. She smiled as Calleigh laughed slightly and walked out of the room.

18:14

Miami CSI Building, Lt. Caine's Office

Horatio was sitting in his chair, going over the moment when he had entered the Ballistics lab. Why had she jumped like that? Surely there were people going into see her in the morning. Horatio had seen that she was lying and had seen the guilt in her face. But he wasn't going to react without a proper reason, or else he'd probably seem as an intruder on Calleigh's personal life. Sighing, he looked out his window into the Ballistics lab, hoping to see Calleigh. But she wasn't there. Horatio frowned and checked his watch. It was only another 15 minutes until the end of Calleigh's shift. Horatio stopped himself from rushing down to the lab. She was probably looking at some more evidence. But, she was meant to be working at the bullets they had found at the scene. He suddenly remembered that Alexx had found bullet fragments in the victim's skull, so Calleigh must have gone to find those. But, he wasn't convincing himself at all.

There was a knock on his door and he turned round, hoping to see Calleigh. However, it was Alexx that came through the door.

"Horatio, the cause of death on our victim was actually strangulation. The bullets were fired after she died." Alexx said grimly.

"So, whoever did this wanted to make sure that she was dead. But why." Horatio murmured to himself.

"My guess is as good as yours." Alexx said. She turned to leave but suddenly Horatio called her back.

"Alexx, is Calleigh with you?" Horatio asked intently. Alexx shook her head.

"No, the last time I saw her was about an hour ago, when she came to pick up some bullet fragments. Why, what's wrong?"

"Calleigh was acting strangely when I last saw her this morning. I think there is something wrong." Horatio said, started to feel panicked.

"Not surprised." Alexx said suddenly. Horatio snapped his gaze on her, looking concerned.

"What do you mean, Alexx?"

"She's hurt her hand, Horatio. She said it was nothing, but it looked pretty bad." Alexx replied, starting to put the pieces together.

"We need to find her now." Horatio said urgently. He grabbed his gun off his desk and hurried out of the door.

18:14

Calleigh Duquesne's House

Calleigh was sitting on her couch, tears spilling down her cheeks. She had lied to 2 people that she thought that she could trust, 2 people that had told her anything. But this was to keep them safe. Calleigh took the plaster care fully over her hand and winced at the sight of the wound. It had now gone even darker and it was beginning to look infected. She grabbed the phone off its base and went to the bathroom with it. She dialled the doctor's phone number as she put her hand under warm water, hissing slightly at the sharp pain. A woman's voice came back over the phone.

"Dr. Jeremy Smith's Surgery, how can I help?" She said.

"Hi, could I book an appointment with Dr. Smith today?" She asked, her voice slightly higher than normal.

"Yes, miss, let me just check the schedule."

Calleigh heard the secretary turning pages and shifted the phone to a better position.

"Could I ask how urgent you are to see the doctor, miss?" The secretary asked.

"Err, pretty urgent." Calleigh said, gazing down at the wound. Suddenly she heard a bang and the sound of glass breaking. Calleigh jerked and the phone clattered to the floor. The secretary on the end was beginning to panic. Something was wrong. Calleigh gathered up the phone and ended the call. She was shaking again and she edged toward the window and careful looked between the blinds. It was the same man that had hurt her last night. He was carrying a rifle, a hunting rifle. He had already fired at the hummer. It had shattered the back window and had gone straight through the windscreen. Calleigh gasped and felt the fear making her heart race. She grabbed her mobile and instantly called Horatio.

18:18

Hummer

Horatio was driving at full speed, his own heart banging against his rib cages. He wasn't sure of what was happening. Alexx was in the passenger seat next to him, looking like what he felt. When his phone rang, he grabbed it instantly.

"Horatio Caine here."

"Horatio!" The voice was sobbing, but Horatio knew who it was anywhere.

"Calleigh, where are you?" He asked, trying to stay calm, but the tone of Calleigh's voice was making him panic. But suddenly he heard gunshots and a single scream. His eyes were wide as he heard a cry of pain.

"CALLEIGH!"

* * *

I know I put it up early, but I got a load of reviews for it that I thought I'd be nice, so I put it up anyway. Enjoy!

TheNextTitan


	3. Horatio's Silent Defeat

Chapter 3: Horatio's Silent Defeat

18:24

Hummer

Horatio threw the Hummer into top speed, sending them flying forwards. His heart was in overdrive and he had begun to sweat. That scream was playing back and forth in his mind, that cry of pain. Alexx was staring over at him, her eyes wide, for the sound had come to her too. Tears were beginning in her eyes and her brain seemed to be blasting an alarm into her ears. Horatio's voice seemed to come in however, fighting its way through the mess of her brain.

"Alexx, call the others. NOW!" He said urgently as he did a full turn with the Hummer. Alexx did as she was told and whipped out her cell phone. The number dialled instantly and immediately. There was one short ring and then…

18:20

Miami CSI Building, Locker Room

"Ryan Wolfe."

"Ryan!" Alexx said, so quickly that she startled herself. "Calleigh is being attacked. Get Delko and Yelina down at her house A.S.A.P!"

"Right, be down there soon." Ryan answered and he ended the call. He quickly rushed off to DNA. As he burst through the doors, Delko looked up, slightly stunned.

"Delko, quick, you have to come with me." Ryan said breathlessly. Delko saw the look on Ryan's face and dumped his white coat and ran off behind him.

"What's going on, Ryan?" He asked as they got in the lift.

"Calleigh is being attacked." Ryan replied quickly. Delko eyes were wide.

"What? Wait, what about H?"

"They're on their way down there now. We just need to…" He was cut off by the opening of the doors and Yelina walked in.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, looking to one to the other. Ryan pressed the lower floor button and said, "Right, now we can go."

18:24

Hummer

As Horatio pummelled down the road toward Calleigh's house, he began to feel the sick weary feeling of sheer horror in the bottom of his stomach. It was then that he got the flashback of the day when he watch Tim Speedle die in the line of fire. He hoped, prayed even that he wouldn't be doing that in a few moments time. With a sudden pang, he realised that they were coming up to Calleigh's house. Already, he could see skid marks, plainly fresh, in a lone line across the tarmac outside. The Hummer slowed to a stop. Horatio swiftly got out of it, bringing his gun out. It felt cold against his sweaty palms as he drew towards the open door. Everything was gently silent, apart from a small drip of something inside. Counting to three, Horatio kicked the door open wide and thrust his gun forward. There was nothing there. All that he could see was a small pool of blood on the floor, which something had been dragged out of. Horatio felt a surge of a relief, but that soon washed over by sheer panic. He stepped forward into the bathroom, when he saw Calleigh's home phone on the floor. It looked as though someone had smashed it to bits with their foot. In the sink was more blood, but it looked as though it was being washed away.

Horatio withdrew his gun, his mind exploding with thoughts of what could have happened. He felt a draft on the side of his arm and turned round sharply. There was no one there. He looked to the window. A small hole, about half a centimetre in diameter, was in the glass. Large cracks flew over the window where it had been struck. Horatio felt a twisting feeling in his gut as he saw blood spatter on the window also. Calleigh must have been shot here. Through the window he saw Alexx standing by Calleigh's hummer, one hand over her mouth, her eyes large. Swiftly, Horatio went out over to her.

"Please don't say she's in there, Horatio." Alexx begged, her voice cracked and unstable as she looked up at Horatio.

"No, Alexx. They've taken her with them. But she was shot." Horatio replied, his own eyes darker and filled with some kind of emotion that was indescribable. Now both hands were over Alexx's face and tears began to form.

"I should have known, Horatio. I should have guessed what was going on when I saw her hand in the first place." She sobbed. Suddenly they both looked up as another vehicle came crashing down the road. Delko was in the driver's seat, his own face contorted into silent anguish. But all that Horatio was thinking silently was his own silent defeat.

18:56

Location Unidentified, Miami

The building was old and derelict, vandalised by teens and battered by the weather. No window remained intact, it's glass green and cloudy. The brink work was crumbling slowly and it wouldn't be long before the whole building gave way.

Inside, three men sat at a table, waiting for one other to finish their work on the girl they had captured. All three of them had sweat on their brow and their hands shaking slightly in their pockets. One had dark brown short hair and a visible beard starting to grow. His name was Derek, a registered sex offender, known as 'Jack-Knife' because of what he did to his victims straight after raping them. The man sat next to him had neck length black hair, which had streaks of silver at the ends. His name was Charlie. He was only known for petty crimes, threatening and abuse. The man sat facing them was much older, about in his 40. His own hands, were on the table. They were not shaking, a visible sign that he had done this before. His own hair was grey, short, but enough to be wavy on his head. His name was Samuel, but known as Sammy in his line of work. He had never been caught for his crimes, he had outwitted the likes of the Police before, but had only just got away from CSI. But that was why they were here, that was why they had kidnapped the ballistics girl. CSI. Lieutenant Caine. Caine had come so close to putting him to the lethal injection, but his brother had not been so lucky. Three years he had planned this, three years of stewing over that wretched Caine. Now this was his payback. Now, it was his turn to see how he liked it. Sammy had watched Caine and this girl a lot recently, seen the way they looked at one another, how Caine would stop her from being hurt all of the time. But he wasn't going to do any of that this time. This time, it would be lights out for him.

The door beside them opened and the final man came out, wiping sweat from his cheeks. He looked over at them all, then took a swig out of his flask.

"The bullet took forever to take out, but it's in there right now. We're lucky it didn't hit one of her arteries, I can say that." He said breathlessly.

"How long can she stay like this until she requires proper medical attention, Mike?" Sammy asked, his hands pressed together. Mike ran a hand over his bald head.

"Well, if I can attend to the bullet wound everyday, check to see if any of the stitching has come loose, it'll be about a week tops." He replied. Charlie looked scared for a moment.

"A week? Caine would have found us then with his bloody team. We would have to move locations definitely!" He said, wining slightly. Sammy frowned at him.

"Why would we do that?" He asked.

"Well…" Charlie looked at him for a moment, his hands moving about him, "That team tracks down anything from anyone! What if they do find this place!"

"They won't." Sammy said simply.

"But…"

"They won't!" Sammy snapped, his voice firm and cold. Charlie fell silent instantly, a short pang of hate throbbing in his throat. But he knew that if anyone stood up to Sammy, it's a bullet in the head.

* * *

Sorry, bad ending, I know, but i will put up the next chapter onFriday! Sorry I can't put much, because I have the evil homeowrk to do, so please review, becuase it help's me loads!

TheNextTitan


	4. Caring out of Kindness

Chapter 4: Caring out of Kindness

23:56pm

Horatio's Hummer

Horatio sat in his Hummer, his mind racing. His glasses were over his yes, hiding the sheer horror of his expression behind a single layer of tinted glass. The others had returned back to the Labs, hoping to find some trace of the kidnappers. But, deep inside his mind, Horatio knew that this had been done with the utmost caution and planning. This was someone that knew the drill of the CSI team, a problem that was becoming more and more common among criminals. It was usually annoying, but in this situation, it made Horatio go pale. He whacked the steering wheel with the hilt of his hand, anger beginning to overcome horror. Why had this happened? Why didn't Calleigh tell him about the hand wound? But with another pang of guilt, he realised why and seemed to slump in the driver's seat. Calleigh hadn't said anything so that all of them could be safe. She was sacrificing her own life for them. Horatio leapt out of the sick pool of fear and jerked the Hummer awake. It burst into life and Horatio pressed the pedal down, sending it surging forwards.

00:06am

Location Unidentified, Miami

Calleigh awoke to the sound of murmuring voices. She felt groggy and stiff, her legs unable to move. She tried to sit up, but a wave sickness brought on by the agony in her shoulder drew her back down to wherever she was lying. She hoped that there would be some source of light, but the only one was coming from the cracks in the door and even that was dim. It was with a sudden jolt that she remembered what happened and tears swelled in her puffy eyes. She should have told someone, she knew that, but she didn't want them getting involved, she only wanted safety for them. The whole ordeal of this was starting to form a lump in her throat, constricting her breath. Calleigh gasped and let yet more tears flow down her cheeks. The sound of murmuring voices stopped and a silence overcame the area. Not even a floorboard moved. It was as though time had kicked this derelict house into stopping from doing anything.

Then, the sound of a chair grazing along the wooden floorboards, the heavy footsteps and the squeal of a door handle turning. Calleigh wanted to scream, but had only to discover her mouth had been covered with duck tape. Her hands were tied underneath her, cutting into her skin. So were her legs too. As the door opened, Calleigh whimpered. In came a man, tall surly, an evil grin drawn on his face, a needle ready in his hand.

01:16am

CSI Building, Miami

Alexx was staring at the metal table, a look of pain and grief on her face. A grate wave of anger was sweeping through her, making her livid and merciless. At she gazed at the holes in the table, she was hoping, at the back of her mind that she wouldn't have Calleigh on this table. She could only grimace at the though of what her friend was going through right now.

There was a knock at the door and Delko came in, his face set, his whole body tense.

"We couldn't find any trace evidence at the scene, but what we could see was that the tyre marks are from a Toyota van. That's all we could come up with so far." He said, staring at his own feet. Alexx nodded, the bags under her eyes suddenly visible. Delko noticed this.

"Why don't you get home, there's not much to do here at the moment." He said, looking concerned at Alexx as she shook her head.

"There may be nothing I can do here, but I can stay here for her though Delko, that's all I can do now." She murmured, tears swelling in her eyes. Delko, took her in her arms. Not out of love, but out of the kindness of his heart. He cared for the whole team, he cared for their safety.

* * *

I know it's short, but I have stacks of homework.


	5. Contacting Satan

Chapter 5: Contacting Satan

04:39am

Location Unidentified, Miami

Derek drew the needle out of the hostage's arm. That'd shut her up for a good couple of hours. Her saw her eyes drifting out of focus, before they closed and her head lolled onto the floor next to her. She was out cold, just how she should be. Derek admired his work as she laid there, her chest silently falling and rising, her eye moving quick and sharply behind her eyelids. He crossed his arms over his chest and threw the needle into the corner of the room. He took one last look at the girl and then walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"She out?" Sammy asked, looking coldly up at Derek as he sat back down at the table, drawing out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Yeah. She won't be bothering us for a few hours." He replied, lighting the eng of his fag and inhaling deeply. It was to calm his nerves.

The mobile on the table suddenly rang. Derek looked down at it and froze.

"Sammy, it's him." He muttered quietly. Sammy raised an eyebrow and drew the phone towards him.

"Ah, so good old Horatio Caine, supposed to be the brightest man in Miami, but he can't even think of ringing his girlfriend's mobile after 10 hours. Well, lets see what he has to say." He joked. Derek smirked and puffed out a cloud of smoke, letting it trail in the air like a vapour of gas. Sammy reached for the mobile and flipped it open, pressing to his ear, a cold, merciless grin spreading over his wrinkled face.

"Calleigh?" Asked a voice over the line.

"Try again, sunshine." Sammy said into the phone, enjoying the note of concern and anxiety in the speaker's tone.

"Sammy." Growled the voice.

04:44am

Horatio Caine's Office, CSI Building, Miami

"The one and only, Caine. The one and only." Replied the voice on the phone. Horatio's face went rigid and twisted slowly into a snarl.

"Where is she, Sammy, what have you done with her?" He said fiercely, his other hand balled into a fist.

"Oh, she's with us, Cain, all nice and cosy. She's sleeping at the minute, under the influence of whatever was in the First Aid kit, but it's doing it's job and keeping her asleep, quiet as well for the matter." Sammy replied, his voice in a low whisper that made Horatio's stomach churning with hate.

"What did she ever do to you, Sammy; it's me you want to get at, not her." Horatio hissed back, making sure every once of poisonous hatred he had for the single man was put into that one tone.

"You're right with that one, Caine, she hasn't done anything to us, she's just unfortunate to be the one you seem to love so dearly. But oh, aren't we getting at you Caine, winding you up and up. If we're not satisfied with this one, we'll take more and more of your dear friends until you haven't got anyone but yourself. Then we'll see who the judge there, then we'll see who will be sending who to death. Your on my target list, Caine, you're at the very top, for what you did to my brother. If it hadn't been for you poking your stupid swabs and torches everywhere, he'd still be here and we wouldn't have to be in this situation. But you're the one that's fuelling us into doing it, so what can we say, but that it's your entire fault."

Horatio sat there, his eyes wider than he'd ever taken, realising his own part in all of this. He heard laughing at the end of the phone, and then the line went dead. He slowly put it down and put his head in his hands. There was a knock at his door and he heard the voice of Wolfe.

"Horatio, what's happened, who was that on the phone?" He blurted out.

"Satan himself, Ryan. I've just contacted Satan."

* * *

-growling- I am really sorry guys, I just can't get enough of story writing time in between my homework and my not homework but still work for school. I will really try harder at the weekend, butI can't promise anything. Thanks for reviewing though, it has helped so much! Please review, feel free to have a god at me because it's short, but if I were you great people, I would.

Really Sorry!

TheNextTitan


	6. Clever Calleigh

Chapter 6: Clever Calleigh

07:31am

CSI Building, Miami

Ryan sat in the lab, staring blank faced at the photos on the light backed table in front of him. They were of the blood splatters found at Calleigh's house. He sighed and ran a hand through his already messed up hair. Bags were under his eyes and his hand was trembling slightly. He'd hadn't had a nights sleep and had been working all the time since they had returned from processing Calleigh's house. There hadn't been much to process from the scene anyway. Only the tyre marks, the bullet found under the Hummer which had been shot at and the blood spatter.

He sighed and drew the tyre marks towards him. He looked at the patterns that the grooves from the tires had left. They were in a zigzag pattern with a line of dotted short lines on the outside of them. He opened his laptop and opened the tire tread pictures Delko had sent him from up stairs. Then he took the photo and the laptop over to the scanner, where he slid the photo under the lid and connected the scanner to his laptop.

Ryan pressed down the scan button and waited for the image to appear on his screen. When it did, he brought up the file of pictures and then put the scanned photo and the file into his matching programme. A loading bar appeared and it begun.

There was a sudden knock at the lab door. Ryan turned and saw Horatio come in, his face still pale from yesterday and his clothes wrinkled and creased. He had obviously got no sleep either. His eyes were faintly pink in the edges too, which showed that he'd done nothing but work and worry, not a good combo.

"Got anything from those tyre marks yet, Ryan?" He asked. His voice was low and slightly hoarse.

"Just doing them now, H. They'll be about 10 minute's tops." Ryan replied, stifling a yawn. Horatio nodded. Then a sudden though came to him.

"Ryan, do you know who's doing the ballistics on this case?" He asked, his eyes looking suddenly fierce. Ryan shook his head.

"I don't think anyone has done it yet." He said quietly. Horatio wasn't angry, or upset. He noticed the small light brown envelope sitting next to the blood spatter photo.

"That the bullet?" He asked, pointing at the envelope.

"Yeah." Horatio picked it up and felt the heavy bullet sway slightly.

"I'll do it then." Horatio murmured.

He walked out of the lab and down to Ballistics. There, he grabbed a white coat and reached out for the ear protectors. He saw Calleigh's pair, places on the shelf. Hers were pink, the others blue. Horatio let a small smile escape his lips. Then it faded as he thought of Calleigh lying somewhere, being injected with something in a dark dank room with Sammy somewhere, laughing as he watched it all happen. It made Horatio feel sick to his stomach. He grabbed the blue pair lying next to Calleigh's and put the on the table next to the bullet and got down Calleigh's bullet book.

08:56am

Location Unidentified, Miami

Calleigh slowly woke to a small ray of light through the murky green window. She groaned quietly and turned on her side. For one small moment, Calleigh was grateful for the gag, for she let out a small cry as her weight landed on her wounded shoulder. She recoiled and laid back on her other side, her breathing suddenly sharp. With a small jerk to her mind, she remembered where she was and suddenly fought against her bindings. But it was no use. Her arms were stiff and sore and her hand was tangled. Calleigh suddenly froze and moved her right hand. It was agony to do so, as it was joined to her shoulder, but somehow it had come free. A great surge of adrenaline passed through her veins and she began to slowly sit up, praying that one of her kidnappers wouldn't come through the door. She brought her other hand forward and slowly released it from the ropes. Then she reached for her bindings on her feet.

There was suddenly movement from outside the door. Panicking, Calleigh gathered the rope at her side and pushed it behind her. She laid down on it and closed her eyes, making her head turn to one side. She heard the door click open and the sound of heavy foot falls on the dusty floorboards underneath her.

"She looks kinda like an angel." Said a voice.

"One heck of a set though." Said a second voice, chuckling slowly. A pang of hate hissed through Calleigh's head but she remained still, listening to every word that they were saying.

"Do we need to give her more knock out?" Asked the first voice.

"Nah, she still out. We've gotta wait until she's awake, that's what Sammy said anyway." Replied the second. There was a small pause of silence then,

"Why don't we just kill her now, Derek? Then dump her body outside CSI. That's enough to twist Caine's pants in a knot." The first asked again.

"Because," Derek replied slowly, "Sammy wants to watch Caine suffer, just like he did when his bro was executed. That's why." Whispered Derek. "But don't worry; she'll be dead at the end of this."

Calleigh's hate turned to sickening fear and tears threatened at her eyes, but she still laid there.

"Well, you'd better take her down to the van, Charlie, I'll ring Sammy." Derek said.

"Where are we going this time anyway?" Charlie asked.

"Dunno, somewhere near the beach I think. Grab her and we'll be out of here. But mind her shoulder, if those stitches come loose, she'll bleed non-stop." Derek replied shortly. His footfall went out of the room, while Charlie's came towards her. Her felt his arms under her back and a cold prickling of fear suddenly shot through Calleigh again. But it seemed that he was too busy making sure that he didn't catch the stitches of her bullet wound. Then he draped her over his shoulder. He was still in crouch, so Calleigh whipped her hand down and grabbed one end of the rope. And gathered it as he began to stand. Then he began to walk slowly out of the room.

* * *

This was a really hard chapter to write. Sorry it wasn't updated sooner! My bad. 

Please review, I did make it longer!

TheNextTitan


	7. Seeing is Believing

Chapter 7: Seeing is Believing

10:25am

Southern Miami Beach, Miami

The navy blue ford van pulled over and up onto a curb, infront of a white painted house, about 2 miles away from the beach. Charlie and Derek sat in the front, looking just like your average workers waiting for someone. The only difference was they weren't your average workers, but they were waiting for Sammy. Charlie was sitting on the far side, next to the window. A newspaper was in his hands and he was reading it, scratching his stubble and sipping at his coffee. He was reading the 4 page story on the kidnap.

"Hey, Sammy's name is in here." Charlie suddenly moaned. Derek looked over from the steering wheel.

"Not like it cares, Charlie, no one knows what he looks like. Well, the citizens don't have a clue anyway." Derek muttered, frowning at the story. Charlie looked hesitant for a moment, but he shook it off and went to the sports section.

Meanwhile in the back, Calleigh was lying on her side, so close to the door that she could bust it open with one bash of her legs. But she knew that she'd just be shot for it. The men in the front both had armed pistols, she had glanced them as they dumped her in the van. It all seemed so well planned; these two were ready for anything. But she had of course heard about Sammy and knew exactly what she was dealing with. A dangerous murderer, just waiting for Horatio to come so that he could blow his brains out with one blast of his gun. It made Calleigh go all cold all over and made her stomach churn. She could see no way out of this, no way whatsoever. All that she could do was pray and hope that Horatio or any of the others came looking for her. She couldn't live with the thought that they had died for her.

Now she laid flat on her back, her shoulder sending small shocks of pain down her arm and her eyes looking up at the roof of the van. It made her uncomfortable to think of the others, how much they would be worrying about her, how much they missed her. It made her feel worse to think of Horatio though. He'd be thinking it was all his fault, taking the blame upon his shoulders and letting himself drown in his fake defeat.

It was then that Calleigh knew that she wasn't going to let herself be killed. She was not going to let Horatio hang around, feeling as though her death was all her fault. It wasn't going to happen. With this new confidence, Calleigh began thinking of a plan.

10:34am

CSI Building, Miami

Horatio came back up from Ballistics, carrying his report, a new strength in him. The bullet was from a rifle, a certain rife that was limited to only 3 in the state. Which meant that, unless these guns were being shipped illegally into Miami, there could be a chance that he could find the guy who had given the gun to Sammy and possibly save Calleigh. To any normal person, this seemed like a pretty simple and quick plan. But to Horatio, it was a total nightmare. First he would have to get permission to get the details of the owners of the guns, then track down where they lived, bring them in fro interrogation, test them for any traces of Calleigh's DNA, then make a certified judgment on them. Not so easy. But Horatio wasn't giving up on any way that may be a link to Calleigh. He quick stepped down the stairs outside of CSI and got into his Hummer. He put his sunglasses on, feeling as though they hid the tiredness in his eyes and then let the Hummer's engine spring into life.

As he pulled up to the junction, he looked out either sides of the road and set off left, behind a black Mercedes Benz. The traffic slowed to a halt as the traffic lights turned red. Horatio grabbed his cell phone off the dash board and called up Delko. While it rang, he looked round at the cars surrounding him. Next to him on his left was a metallic green Toyota. An elderly woman was driving it and in the back were two children, both looking up at the Hummer. On his right was silver Vauxhall, with what looked like a business man in the front.

Horatio heard Delko's voice in his ear.

"Delko here."

"Horatio, Eric, can you pull up some details for me?" Horatio asked, turning his eyes towards the Mercedes in front.

"Yeah sure. Do you have some names?"

"You bet." Horatio answered, peering through his sunglasses at the mirror on the windscreen of the car. A guy in his mid-forties was sitting there, his own sunglasses reflected in glass. Grey wavy hair was on top of his round head and he had great wrinkles in his face.

"Shoot the names, H." Delko said.

"Mr Keith Dover. Ronnie Barchester and Gregory Smith." Horatio murmured back. He was focused on that mirror. With a sudden jerk of his mind, he recognized who it was. He defiantly would have had to have seen it to believe it.

"Delko, get me back up quick. I've got Sammy right in front of me. I want unmarked cars following my lead, got that!" Horatio said quickly into his cell. Delko seemed to be slightly taken aback over the phone, but nevertheless he replied,

"Right on it, H. But be careful. We don't know what he could do. I'll be out there in 5 minutes."

Horatio closed his cell phone with a snap and leant back in his seat, enjoying the oblivious moment of Sammy not having a clue what was going to happen. But for Sammy, it was the other way round.

* * *

Ah, yes I do agree with what your mind may be saying. That is a really unfair cliffie I know, but I worked my butt of this get this up. It;s actually quite lucky, seeing as I actually had no homework to stop me. It;s just a shame it couldn't have been longer.

Ok, I am not entirely sure when I will be able to update next becuase over the next 2 days I will be doing this foolish History project, but perhaps on Saturday I will write something. I am sorry to anyone who thinks that the story so far is a complete let down, I am heading towards more action in teh next 3 chappies!

Please review, becuasae it does get me into gear and starts me writing more!

TheNextTitan


	8. Car Chase

Chapter 8: Car Chase

10:36am

Horatio Caine's Hummer

The black Mercedes kicked forward, straight through the oncoming traffic. Horatio followed, the sirens blasting out now as he sped after Sammy. They tore through streets, narrowly missing cabs and cars. The Hummer had more difficulty weaving in and out, but it still kept up with Sammy. Suddenly Sammy turned down a steep downward alleyway. Horatio followed, nearly going into the wall. He saw in the back view mirror three cars following. They must be the back up he ordered. The Mercedes darted downward and scraped the road as it slammed onto it. Horatio felt the Hummer lean forward slightly as he did the same, but it still went on. The three cars skidded behind him and collided with the road too.

Sammy watched and laughed as he saw the Hummer and the three unmarked cars behind him. He pushed down in the accelerator and drove straight towards where Horatio Caine wanted do go. To Calleigh.

10:48am

Southern Miami Beach, Miami

Calleigh had finally worked it out. When one of her kidnappers came to open the van door, she would lash out with her legs, hopefully kicking the guy somewhere. Then she'd make a run for it, hopefully get far enough so that she could get into someone's house, call CSI and then get back to Horatio. She was sure it was going to work. But that little voice inside her head told her otherwise. She heard murmuring voices and the sound of a cell phone vibrating. Then she heard the low voices again and someone yelling. Something was happening. Calleigh looked to the door to wait for them to open, but they didn't. Something was happening and involved her.

10:53am

Horatio's Hummer

Sammy speeded down the roads, the car having already suffering from dents and scratches. He didn't care though, he just wanted Horatio Caine. So with this in mind, he was able to dodge the rest of the cars and head straight for Southern Miami Beach. So this was not his plan, but it may be a bonus. He turned violently yet again and saw the Hummer pass through the tight pass. The three cars behind it collided with the metal mesh near the opening. They were too far behind now. Sammy pushed on and glanced the street sign as he passed it in a flash. It was only 2 more streets to go, before Caine was reunited with Bullet Girl in the worst way possible.

Horatio had no idea why Sammy was taking this particular route, but he knew that it may have something to do with Calleigh. His cell phone ringed on the dashboard, but he didn't answer it. He didn't have the time right now to get this call. He wanted to get to Calleigh, get her to a hospital and make her safe again. All of a sudden he saw Sammy turn down a street. Horatio followed. Knowing that it was a high risk because he had no backup. He saw Sammy hading towards a blue van. It suddenly all clicked. His eyes went wide as he saw Sammy leap out of the driver's door and roll on the ground. Horatio skidded to a halt and could only watch as the Mercedes slammed into the back of the van. He yelled out and started running forwards.

* * *

ACK! It's yet again shorter than ever! It's the shortest that I have done yet. You guys must get so fed up with this. Ok, my history assignment is to be handed in on the Wednesday before i break up for half-term, but after that things should be getting back to normal!

I'm really sorry!

TheNextTitan


	9. Brother

Chapter 9: Brother

10:54am

Back of Van

It was as though the whole world had caved in. The back doors had given into the car bonnet, letting in burst into the back of the van. The metal now was groaning, as though moaning in agony. Calleigh lay underneath one of the doors from the back of the van, her eyes closed. Pain was stabbing at her shoulder and one of her legs. She moaned out loud, trying not to scream. She heard someone yelling outside, but she was too overcome with shock and pain to reply. It was as though a hand was plunging towards her, but she just couldn't reach it. This made her frustrated and scared and she felt tears pricking at the back of her eyelids. She felt something wet on her arm and guessed it was blood, for it was warm and it trickled ever so slowly down her arm, as though torturing her. She tried to lift her head up and open her eyes, but only sharp pain was there to greet her. She lay back on the floor of the van and at least opened her eyelids the smallest bit. Light was drifting into the van. The black car had been going at such a speed that it had taken one door of it's hinges and put it on top of her. She could hear two voices, yelling and arguing. With a sudden pang she heard one voice that was as familiar to her as air itself, a voice she heard almost everyday of her life. She let the tears slip down her cheeks, shuddering slightly as they felt so warm against her skin. She was getting colder as she was loosing blood in amounts. Even though she was still, her head felt lighter and she had the sensation of flying. Slowly she was passing out. Calleigh, however, had already devoted herself not to die like this. She tried to shake away the feeling, put her head back and tried to shout as loud as she could.

"HORATIO!"

10:58am

Outside near crash site

Horatio looked suddenly at the van, his heart beating with relief as he heard Calleigh's voice. But he switched his gaze back to Sammy and he held his gun firmly, his blue eyes taking aim at Sammy.

"Get down on the floor or else I'll shoot." Horatio growled his breathing rash and quick as he extended the gun further forwards. Sammy looked at the gun, but had no fear for it. As quick as a flash he drew out his own pistol and aimed it, not at Horatio, but at his car's petrol tank.

"You shoot me, Caine, she burns and dies." He roared. He grinned as he watched Horatio's own eyes flick to the car then back to him.

"Who's giving orders now, Horatio?" Sammy said. "Put your own gun down and get down on the ground."

Horatio felt his whole body go tense. He did as Sammy said however and dropped his gun to ground and knelt down beside it, his hands raised and a great wave of sickness sweeping through his mind. He clenched his teeth as Sammy walked towards him and he glared at his over shined shoes as they kicked away his gun. He froze as he felt the barrel of the gun press against his head.

"Not such fun being a CSI now, is it, Caine? Not such fun when you're faced with death." Sammy hissed in his ear. Horatio's eyes closed.

"Sammy, you're brother deserved what he got. He abused you, turned you into a killer. He killed kids in front of your own face and then hung them on the walls. I wasn't going to let him get away with it. He turned you that way, Sammy. He killed your own mother and father." Horatio said in a low voice. He felt the barrel push harder into his head.

"Shut it, Caine! You knew nothing about Jake; you killed him for pure pleasure!" Sammy bellowed.

"No I didn't, Sammy. _He _killed for pleasure. He killed children and adults alike, then made you do it or he threatened to kill you to. He was nothing but a coward that thought that he could push you around." Horatio replied. Now he felt the barrel shaking. He heard Sammy's sharp breathing. Then he heard a click.

"Sammy, don't do this." Horatio said in a tone that had no expression, only a warning. But Sammy didn't care; he was going to have his payback, here and now.

"Goodbye Caine." He said his voice cracked and shaky. His pressed the gun further into Horatio's brow. Another click and a sudden bang.

* * *

Now, I have to agree, this was one heck of an evil cliffie! Once again, I apologise for the lack of updation I have been doing. I just really am stuck for time. Well, I hope to get the next chapter up soon!

TheNextTitan


	10. The Lost and Found

Chapter 10: The Lost and Found

11:00am

Outside near crash site

Horatio fell back, stunned slightly. He felt something whip past his arm and slam into the road beside him. A sharp pain emerged and he let out a small groan. He looked up at Sammy, who was still standing there, his gun still raised, but he seemed to have frozen. Then he looked down at Horatio. His mouth was slightly open, as though in shock.

A small trickle of blood passed down his lips. His eyes were wide as he dropped his gun with a clatter and he staggered forward, his hand clutching his chest. He tried to turn to see who it was, but only crashed in a heap, his last breath leaving his body as a sigh. He slumped there…dead. Horatio stared at his face for a moment, still in shock from the moment, but then looked up.

Delko stood on the path, his gun raised and his eyes hard. His gun had followed Sammy to the ground, but now he was looking at Horatio, who nodded. Delko withdrew his gun and ran across to him.

"You ok, H?" He asked quickly, offering a hand to help him up. Horatio took the offer and stood to his feet. Then a cold chill passed down his spine.

"Calleigh!" He said. Delko looked to the crash and felt the same cold chill.

"CALLEIGH!" Horatio cried and he ran forwards toward the van, Delko right behind him. They skidded to a stop and Horatio climbed into the front of the van. He looked into the back, seeing the immense wreckage. Then he saw a flow of blonde hair.

"Calleigh?" Horatio asked. There was no reply. Horatio crawled over the top of the seats and tried to get to her side. He saw the damage done to her shoulder, but couldn't see what the crash had. He looked to her face and saw that her eyes were closed. Her chest was hardly moving. Then he smelt something that made him freeze. It was the small of fuel. Horatio looked at where the car had struck. It had hit the diesel tank, bursting it instantly. Horatio was aware of how much danger Calleigh was in.

"Delko, call backup and emergency services now, tell them that we have a serious crisis on our hands" Horatio called. Delko seemed to be more concentrated on Calleigh's status, but he still brought out his phone and dialled the numbers needed.

Horatio looked back to Calleigh. He lightly shook her shoulder.

"Calleigh, can you hear me?" He said softly into her ear. She didn't move or make a sound. Horatio panicked. He needed to get her out of here quick.

Slowly and carefully, he slipped an arm under Calleigh's back and the other under her legs and tried to break her away from the debris. But one of her legs was jammed under the car. He saw a great pool of blood. Calleigh had gone into shock, her whole body was shaking.

"Eric! She's gone into shock, get medical services here NOW!" Horatio yelled. He put a hand on Calleigh's cheek.

"Calleigh? Calleigh, please, open your eyes, sweetheart." Horatio said gently, in a smooth voice.

Calleigh's eyes gently opened. Her breathing was suddenly steadier and her shaking lessened.

"Horatio?" She said, in a quiet cracked voice. She couldn't seem to see him and she couldn't move much. Horatio smiled.

"Yes, Calleigh." He replied, unable to describe the immense relief and joy he was feeling. But he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet.

* * *

Look, I am well araware that I haven't updated much, so I apologise yet again. I know it was a short chapter, but I am having some mild writers block, so it's a bit hard at the moment.

Please review, it does help

TheNextTitan


	11. The Blackened Storm

Chapter 11: The Blackened Storm

11:08am

Crash site

Calleigh's vision was blurred and her head was in so much pain. She couldn't feel her arm or her legs. But she could feel something warm on her cheek, stroking it. It was a hand, a hand that was keeping out of the black. She thought it was Sammy's for a moment, but then she heard a voice that sent relief flying through her. It was Horatio. Her mind was buzzing, not silencing the sheer joy that she was feeling. But now she felt so weak. Her throat was dry and eyes began to sting. All she wanted to do was fall asleep, right here, right now. A funny floating sensation began and she felt her own body begin to shake.

Calleigh kept her eyes open however, letting them cry. Horatio was saying something loudly, but he only sounded muffled. What was happening to her? She knew that she knew, but why couldn't she understand. The floating sensation was growing stronger now and the shaking was worse. Calleigh could feel the black etching steadily at the back of her eyes, as though dragging her back. Her mind was determined to stop herself from going back but her body wasn't in on the game. It was giving up slowly. Calleigh began to panic. She was dying.

Horatio was loosing her in his arms. Her whole body was madly shaking and her eyes were closed again. He tried talking to her, but he knew that she couldn't hear him anymore. The thing that was nagging at the back of his mind was that he had seen this so many times before. And so many times before had he seen them die, just like this.

"Calleigh, come on. Just stay with me, please!" Horatio said loudly. Eric was standing nearby, yelling into his cell phone.

"ERIC, WHERE ARE THEY?" Horatio hollered, not taking his eyes off Calleigh. Eric continued yelling.

"There's been a major crash in the middle of town, but an ambulance is on its way now." Eric yelled back. Horatio growled and looked up at the state of Calleigh's legs. They weren't bleeding out, but they were certainly damaged. They were still hidden underneath the van door. He needed to get that door off her legs; it was cutting off blood supply to them.

"Eric! Get that door now!" Horatio called. Eric rushed past him, carefully stepping past Calleigh and grabbed the door. He moved it as though it was just another weight that he lifted. It lifted and tumbled down onto more debris. Horatio heard sirens in the distance. He looked round and saw an ambulance shoot round a corner, following a silver Hummer. Horatio squinted and saw the panicked face of Alexx, gripping onto the steering wheel tight. Both vehicles screamed to a stop and they drivers rushed out. Alexx was the first to get to Calleigh. The paramedics followed, kneeling down by her. Horatio moved away and could only watch as her saw them treat Calleigh. He heard Alexx murmuring to Calleigh.

"You're gonna be ok, sugar. Just you wait; you'll be out of this mess in no time." She said, in her most gentle voice. Eric drew a hand over his face. Horatio could tell what he was thinking.

_Which way out would she take? _

* * *

_-_fumes- DAMN MY HOMEWORK! My chapters are so short now! Sorry guys, I haven't updated for ages. I have my exams soon and I've been revising my butt off. Please r&r, it helps me get started on writing! 


	12. The Promise of Survival

Chapter 12: The Promise of Survival - Pt. I

14:22pm

Miami Sunbird Hospital, Miami

It had been 2 days. 2 whole days of torment and no sleep. 2 wholes days set on staying by her side, grasping a mug of coffee, muttering words into her ear and willing her to open her eyes. There had been no progress in her recovery. No signs of her knowing that he was even there.

Horatio sighed and leant back for about the hundredth time in the chair by Calleigh's bed. He rubbed his eyes, forcing them to stay open and drawing his hand over his face. He set aside yet another cup of coffee and looked over at Calleigh. Her face was battered and bruised, her left leg was broken and she had to have over 2/3 of blood pumped back into her. It was no wonder she was in a coma. Horatio's eyes began to flicker before he finally drifted off into a sleep, letting himself be sucked under.

18:31pm

Miami Sunbird Hospital, Miami

Horatio jerked awake, dragging himself away from a nightmare. He looked over quickly at the bed. Calleigh was still there, just as he had left her. He glanced at his watch. He'd slept for four hours. Horatio sighed slowly and sat up slightly. He felt his phone vibrating against his chest from his breast pocket. He reached in and got up, answering it as he walked out of the room.

"Caine." He said, in a low voice, so not to wake Calleigh, though he doubted that he could do that.

"Horatio? It's Alexx." Horatio breathed out slowly. "How is she?"

"Not good Alexx, not good at all." He said, looking through the window at Calleigh's face. "She's not even out of the coma yet." He heard Alexx sigh over the phone.

"Do you want me to watch her tonight?" She asked.

"No, I'll stay."

"Horatio, you've sat by her side 2 days straight. You haven't slept. Look, if anything happens at all, I'll ring you straight away." Alexx said fiercely. Horatio stood silently there for minute, staring down at his shoes, pondering the idea. If something happened. What could happen? Calleigh could wake up of course. But what if she went the other way and never did wake up? He couldn't bare the thought of him being at home while Calleigh died. It was at though he would be sleeping off the problem. But then again, the doctors said she was stable. Also the fact that he was going to have to go home anyway, due to the certain fact that Alexx would come here herself and usher him away. He peered back though the window, looking at Calleigh again. He hadn't been there when she had been stabbed and shot. What if he wasn't there when she finally died?

Horatio shook this idea. Now he was just fooling himself, letting his own mind take advantage over him.

"Alright, Alexx. But I'll be back if anything happens to her. And I mean anything. Her finger twitches, her breathing gets worse. Anything." Horatio suddenly felt like he was parenting toward Calleigh and as though Alexx was some sort of babysitter.

"I promise Horatio. Do you want me to take you home?" Alexx asked.

"No, it's only a few minutes away form my house. Bye Alexx." Horatio replied and he snapped his cell shut. He walked back into the room and lifted his jacket off the chair. Should he wait until Alexx got here? He agreed to his own idea and sat there, back on that chair which he had come so familiar with, to wait for Alexx to come.

19:17pm

CSI Building, Miami

Eric sat in the locker room, looking down at his hands. Usually, like most normal people, they didn't bother him. But for some odd reason, they were scaring him. His hands had swum through bloody swimming pool, had handled dead bodies and had been the single tool that operated the gun which he had used to kill someone. He had the power to kill. It was for defence of him and other members of the team. So why on earth was it bothering him now? Why was it nagging at his mind, pulling him back from his work, making him turn away? He had killed few people, but they never seemed to creep back up on him. He growled at his own self-pity. Calleigh was the one in trouble, not him and his hands. He tried to shake it off, but it dugs it's claws into his conscience. He stamped his foot and put his head in his hands.

Ryan just had to walk in at that moment. He considered leaving Delko, not wanting to intrude on his business, but he made his way toward him and sat down beside him. Eric glanced up at him from his hands.

"Come to enjoy the moment have you?" He said lowly. Ryan narrowed his eyes. Eric had still held him against replacing Speed, but he wiped the comment away as though it were a mere fly that just be happening to bother him.

"Why would I enjoy it?" Ryan asked. Eric gave him a look that made him angry.

"Look, I get the point. But seriously...Eric, I'm sorry about Speed and I'm sorry that I came. But you're just going to have to live with it. I would have never guessed that I would get on the team, but I'd never have guessed that the few members that I have to work would hold it against me that I took the place of the previous occupant." He said, his tone slicing through Eric like a cold blade. He looked up at Ryan, who was now standing up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eric said stupidly.

"Can't you work it out?" Ryan snapped. "You only pissed off with me because I took Speed's place on the team. If it were under any other circumstances, I think I'd see a better side of you." Eric looked taken aback, slightly dazed at what Ryan had just said to him. The horrible thing was that Eric knew that he was right. He had been holding it against Ryan, generally out of grief for Tim. He'd been taking it out on Ryan. He heard footsteps away from the locker room and saw Ryan leaving. He hesitated before finally blurting out, "Have you ever killed someone?"

Ryan turned round to face him, a sort of shocked look on his face.

"What, murder someone or..."

"No, I mean shot someone, on duty." Eric cut across him. The thought of Ryan chasing someone around with a knife was amusing to him in someway, but he kicked that out of his mind as Ryan began to reply.

"Well, I guess so. But, never killed them, just in the shoulder or leg." Ryan replied, looking straight at Eric. "Why, have you?"

"Yeah. When we found Calleigh, a guy was about to put a bullet in Horatio's head, so I shot him through the chest." Eric said, leaning back against the wall. "But that wasn't the first time. But it usually doesn't affect me, but when I watched that guy just die, it really...I don't know, got to me somehow."

Ryan thought about this, folding his arms across his chest.

"Surely you have kept in mind that you were doing this on duty and that it was to save Horatio. I've met a few people around here who already owe their lives to him, but loads would willing kill the bad guy." Ryan commented.

"Yeah, I know." Eric replied. "I've done it before. But this one just seems to scare me more that the others." Ryan shook his head.

"Don't think about it. You will have to do this more and more soon enough. Just think of the facts, not the life. See you around." Ryan said and he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Hey! Ryan!" Eric called. Ryan turned round. "Um, you want to go out for a drink sometime?" Ryan grinned.

"Sure."

19:29pm

Miami Sunbird Hospital, Miami

Alexx walked through the door, looking apologetic.

"Sorry, Horatio. I had to get the kids to bed and...Well, you know. The whole world stopped." Alexx said. Horatio nodded.

"It's fine." Alexx looked him over, her eyes taking in his scruffy hair, creased suit and baggy eyes.

"You sure you don't want me to take you back home?" She asked.

"It's fine. I don't Calleigh to be left alone. Are you ok doing this?" Horatio asked, taking his sunglasses slowly out of his pocket.

"Horatio, all I was gonna to do tonight was sleep. What could possible stop me from coming here?" She asked incredulously.

"Your husband, perhaps?" Horatio said. Alexx gave him a look which answered his question, but she still replied.

"He knows I'm here and he's perfectly fine with that, Horatio." She said slowly. Horatio took this warning, backing off quickly and sharply.

"Well," Horatio sighed, standing up and looking down kindly at Calleigh. "I'll go now." He kneeled down and grasped Calleigh hand in support, before turning, hugging goodbye to Alexx and finally walking out of the hospital. The warm, Miami breeze lifted his hair as he gazed out into the car park and onto the orange sun, which was low on the horizon. He sighed once more and knew he'd be back here in no more then that of 12 hours and made his way back to his Hummer, looking forward to a good long sleep.

* * *

Woot! My chapter has finally grown! And I submitted a whole 2 chapters in one day! I'm ona roll people! Right. This story is coming to a close, so already I'm writing up a sequeal to my first CSI: Miami fanfic, Broken. Please read it of you are considering reading my sequeal! Please review! I will update soon! 


	13. Wires

Chapter 13: Wires

'_You've got wires,_

_going in._

_You've got wires,_

_coming out of your skin._

_You got tears,_

_Making tracks_

_I've got tears_

_That are scared of the facts'_

_-Written and Sung by Athlete Copyright goes to them_

0:48am

Horatio's House

Horatio slept fitfully that night. His mind had gotten the better of him, making him have dreams of death. Death that was upon Calleigh. He woke suddenly. Turning to his clock, he sighed. He'd only slept for 5 hours. He reached over for his cell and flipped it open. No messages, no missed calls. Horatio sighed, closed it and placed it back on the bedside table. He tried to return to sleep, but he was too anxious to even close his eyes.

Getting up and out of bed, he dressed and went into his kitchen. There he flipped the switch on the kettle and sat at the table, hearing the water boil rapidly, just as his own mind was doing. As the steam curled slowly out of the top, the switch flipped back to its off state. Horatio grabbed a mug, added coffee and sugar and returned back to his kitchen table. There, he settled the mug slowly down on a mat and flipped open his laptop. There he accessed his case files and began typing the report. He hadn't had the chance to do this, seeing as he hadn't had the chance to, as he'd stayed by Calleigh's side every since she had left the crash site.

Sighing slowly, he began to write his account of things, before emailing Ryan, Delko and the rest of the team their own accounts and findings, of which then he could finally put up into a report and send off to court. They were lucky that the other three culprits had remained near to the area and were easy to find. The words 'panic looking' and recent photos of them had led the officers to a cheap motel, where the three gave in and went quietly down to the cells.

A small blip told him that someone had sent him a message. He saved the report and flicked open his inbox. It was a message from Delko. He opened it and read it in a flash. He grinned.

_I thought you were meant to be at home sleeping, H._

_Delko_

Horatio smiled briefly before replying.

_So are you. You seen the time yet?_

_Caine_

Horatio sipped his coffee and returned to typing on his report. There was no answer from Delko, so Horatio assumed that he'd seen the time and taken his advice. Finally drinking the last of his coffee and finishing his report he looked up and saw that it was now 5:30am. He smiled. Alexx could always use a good waking.

5:31am

Miami Sunbird Hospital, Miami

Alexx was dozing quietly in the chair as the Miami sun peeped through the blinds, casting long rays of golden across the occupied bed of Calleigh. She was still the same as she had been yesterday, pale, clammy and in a deep sleep. Doctors and nurses passed the window every few hours, their eyes usually fixed on a clipboard or a file, talking to their associates or someone on a cell.

One finally entered the room, awaking Alexx. She frowned up at him and her eyes flicked over to Calleigh, checking that she hadn't died on her while she was asleep.

"She seems to be doing well." The doctor said finally, after checking on every wire that was attached to Calleigh and smiled at Alexx, who was grinning. He flicked over a piece of paper on his own clipboard and wrote something down. Smiling at Alexx again, the doctor left out the door.

Alexx leant forward and held Calleigh's hand.

"You hear that, Cal? You'll be out of here in no time. You'll see." She said the happiness plain in her voice.

She heard a faint knock and looked up to see Horatio. Frowning, but still smiling, she got up and met him outside the door.

"Honey, I told you to stay at home and rest." Alexx said, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest. Horatio gave her a sheepish smile.

"I couldn't sleep." He said. Alexx looked concerned. "I got some sleep, Alexx, but just not after I woke up." Horatio added, already imagining Alexx raising her arm, her finger pointed at the way out. The concern left out of her and she returned to smiling.

"How is she holding up?" Horatio asked, looking in on Calleigh.

"The doctor said she's making a steady recovery. The bullet wound in her shoulder however is going to take time to heal." Alexx said.

Both now smiling, they walked into the sunlit room, now both holding Calleigh's hand. The Miami sun now was fully over the horizon and now it beamed proudly into the room, as though it was reacting to the hope that now shone in the air.

The End

* * *

Well, that's the end of another one ofmy stories. I'd like to thank everyone for reading my story and reviewing as well. It was a great pleasure reading your reviews and they helped me so much while writing my story. 

For my upcoming stories, I plan to write my sequel to my first CSI Miami fanfic, Broken. So, if you have read that story, be on teh lookout!

Thank you all for reading again!

TheNextTitan


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